Mofra
29-05-2008, 11:28 PM
As sad as it is to reflect upon, players such as Johnson, Eagle, West, Hudson, Aker & Welsh are all getting a litle long in the tooth and we will see most of them depart in the next 2-3 years.
Just wondering as an exercise who on our current list appear to be the heir apparents to these players?
As a quick run down:
Johnson: For mine, the easiest to pick. Higgins is a smooth mover, very good overhead for his size & finishes well. He will play midfield & forward and could play the Johnno role now, assuming Cooney spends most of his timne in the midfield.
West: Cross plays a similar style of game; although nobody can really replace West in terms of hand speed and wrist strength in packs, Cross is much better overhead.
Eagleton: Farren Ray looks like he can run & carry all day, yet that boming left foot that was at the front of our assist count for years on end looks like a hole in the list. Move Gilbee up the ground? Ward looks like he'll develop to be too good in traffic to waste as an outside player. O'Keefe lloks liek he can run into space well so will watch his development with interest.
Hudson: I'd like to say Cordy (hell I'd like to say Mulligan or Shaw) however teh answer to this one is unlikely to be known until after next year's draft. Lets hope the talk of Huddo having a young body for his age is true.
Aker: I doubt we have anyone of his directly-replaceable quality on the list, however two thinsg really stand out in Aker's game. His finishing is the obvious one, his defensive pressure & willingness to scarifice his game when required is less obvious. Harbrow's woprk ethic on turnovers leads me to believe he is the closest we have to playing Aker's forward linerole.
Welsh: To me, an obvious stop-gap until Grant is ready, although as a "contibuting tall forward" Tiller may well fill his spot if/when Grant is ready for senior football.
Just for the hell of it:
Hahn: Reid is a Queenslander, solid build for a youngster, and could well be a solid midfield/forward type.
Hargrave: Tiller could play his role, although I really think Tiller is a long term forward. As much as everyone wants KPPs in this year's draft, I'd love a quarterback/mid sized player in the Goddard mold to develop - one with a booming kick. O'Shea has a ton of courage & may develop into a Shaggy type player - pure backman that can play tall, small or undersized on guts alone.
Gia: Anther player who knows where the goals are, has a good football brain and is very good in congested situations. Callan Ward, gudday.
Murphy: Dammit, too bruddy unique a player. Everitt seems to have his "time stands still" effect when he has the ball, but will play in the backline.
Just wondering as an exercise who on our current list appear to be the heir apparents to these players?
As a quick run down:
Johnson: For mine, the easiest to pick. Higgins is a smooth mover, very good overhead for his size & finishes well. He will play midfield & forward and could play the Johnno role now, assuming Cooney spends most of his timne in the midfield.
West: Cross plays a similar style of game; although nobody can really replace West in terms of hand speed and wrist strength in packs, Cross is much better overhead.
Eagleton: Farren Ray looks like he can run & carry all day, yet that boming left foot that was at the front of our assist count for years on end looks like a hole in the list. Move Gilbee up the ground? Ward looks like he'll develop to be too good in traffic to waste as an outside player. O'Keefe lloks liek he can run into space well so will watch his development with interest.
Hudson: I'd like to say Cordy (hell I'd like to say Mulligan or Shaw) however teh answer to this one is unlikely to be known until after next year's draft. Lets hope the talk of Huddo having a young body for his age is true.
Aker: I doubt we have anyone of his directly-replaceable quality on the list, however two thinsg really stand out in Aker's game. His finishing is the obvious one, his defensive pressure & willingness to scarifice his game when required is less obvious. Harbrow's woprk ethic on turnovers leads me to believe he is the closest we have to playing Aker's forward linerole.
Welsh: To me, an obvious stop-gap until Grant is ready, although as a "contibuting tall forward" Tiller may well fill his spot if/when Grant is ready for senior football.
Just for the hell of it:
Hahn: Reid is a Queenslander, solid build for a youngster, and could well be a solid midfield/forward type.
Hargrave: Tiller could play his role, although I really think Tiller is a long term forward. As much as everyone wants KPPs in this year's draft, I'd love a quarterback/mid sized player in the Goddard mold to develop - one with a booming kick. O'Shea has a ton of courage & may develop into a Shaggy type player - pure backman that can play tall, small or undersized on guts alone.
Gia: Anther player who knows where the goals are, has a good football brain and is very good in congested situations. Callan Ward, gudday.
Murphy: Dammit, too bruddy unique a player. Everitt seems to have his "time stands still" effect when he has the ball, but will play in the backline.